“He’s All That” is not all that and a bag of chips.

While I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by Addison Rae’s acting chops, I was hopeful that the movie wouldn’t completely boreme. It’s the type of borderline-terrible film that you can’t help but watch. Between Rae’s grimacing smiles, a two-minute cameo from Kourtney Kardashian and an ending scene with a galloping horse, I can’t begin to describe my full horror.

But, I will try.

Netflix dropped “He’s All That” — a gender-swapped reinvention of the 1999 film “She’s All That” — on Aug. 27. The remake debuts TikTok star Addison Rae into the film world playing Padgett: the female version of Freddie Prinze Jr.’s original character.

Addison Rae is TikTok famous and has amassed over 83 million followers on the platform. Generations Z and Alpha are obsessed with her, and if they’re not, they’ve likely heard about her by the multiplicity of career avenues she has entered into this last year.

With a new makeup line, a possible singing career and of course some dancing talent, it doesn’t come as a surprise that Rae emerges into the film world. But, dare I ask, was it a necessary escapade into the movie industry? I think not.

Rae’s character is updated to fit within the landscape of her generation, but little else is done to evolve the plotline from the original. The film follows the journey of a bet from start to finish. Padgett’s friends dare her — after her celebrity boyfriend cheats on her — to turn the biggest loser at school into prom king by the end of the semester. If she can’t, her friends will deem her a write-off for the
rest of her life.

However cliche and cringey the plot sounds, there was promise. Director Mark Waters is known for his escapades throughout the high school film landscape, most notably known for directing the hit 2004 film “Mean Girls.”

Because of this, I suppose I shouldn’t have hoped for too much. “Mean Girls” prided itself on catty women who backstabbed each other to reach the highest pinnacle in life: being known and still being liked. Popular high school girls and the distortion of freaks and geeks still reign supreme when it comes to depicting the place teenagers spend their time for four years. “She’s All That” was known for singling out “unappealing” women and turning them into something that men could easily look at. “She’s All That” and “Mean Girls” both hold outdated and sexist ideas.

But this isn’t the only problem with “He’s All That.”

The film also recasts Rachael Leigh Cook and Matthew Lillard from the original “She’s All That.” Cook added little to the story, sometimes coming off as drab, and Lillard was just as awkward as he was in 1999.

Still, the problem lies somewhere else, or more specifically, with someone else. This movie simply wasn’t great because Rae was cast as the lead.

They do cast Tanner Buchanan as the male lead, who helps hold the film together until the very end. Buchanan plays Cameron Kweller, the “loser” that Padgett tries to turn around by prom. Still, his obvious shoulder-length wig, self-righteous attitude and cliche photography “geek” character trope doesn’t offer much else to the story. But Buchanan does a decent job at portraying his character, or at least making it somewhat entertaining.

While Buchanan seems to have the outcast loner-boy vibe down, Rae struggles to add substance to her character, and seems a little out of place. It is obvious the film tries to accentuate the concept of popularity in the real world and on social media. However, it is un-
clear who is teaching this lesson.

Kweller’s insight in the film is, “high school’s just a bunch of scared people pretending to be something they’re not.” And to me, it appears Buchanan is the one preaching to us about honing in on our authenticity.

Yet the film revolves around Rae: a huge influencer in the real world, who struggles to identify living a life without fame and assurance on screen when she is singled out.

All things considered, Buchanan’s performance couldn’t save the film. The casting was poor. The cliche high school tropes didn’t evolve (we aren’t in the 2000s anymore) and Rae’s performance, well, sucked.

But, maybe it’s not Rae’s fault that her performance was lackluster. Maybe it was the casting department’s fault for hiring someone associated with social media fame in real life. It’s hard for an audience to believe a movie when the one leading it lives a life so public and similar to her character’s. At that point, you’re not questioning what Rae’s character has to offer in the movie, but who she is when the director yells cut.

Edited by Elise Mulligan, emulligan@themaneater.com